Politics&Rights

Politics&RightsComments Off on ‘Moonlight’, Netflix and Paramount shine in SAG Awards nominations

Photo Credit: TNT/Cultjer Early this morning, from the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, nominees for the 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced. Moonlight garnered 3 nominations, Netflix surpassed all other television networks with 17 noms, and Paramount led the motion picture studio pack with 6. Continuing the streak of awards and nominations from major critics and industry associations, the intensely honest and beautiful film about a black inner city Miami youth’s struggle to find himself, his voice and his own sexuality as told through three stages in his life, Moonlight has been nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Additional noms went to Naomie Harris (Paula) and Mahershala Ali (Juan) for Outstanding Performance by a Female and Male Actor in a...

Politics&RightsComments Off on Brown becomes first openly LGBT governor elected

Oregon Governor Kate Brown made history on election night, becoming the first openly LGBT person elected governor.A Victory Fund candidate, Kate had been serving as governor since 2015 following the resignation of Gov. John Kitzhaber. Her surprise governorship followed two decades as an elected official, serving one term in the state House and two in the state Senate. Kate was elected Washington’s Secretary of State in 2008 and re-elected in 2012, becoming one of the first openly LGBT statewide elected officials in the country. Tags: Kate Brown Oregon

Politics&RightsComments Off on Denial, Derangement, Dereliction, and Democrats: 1 of 2

As I understand it, the current substance of the Conspiracy Theory is that the Russian Government (with the possible collusion of the Trump campaign) hacked the DNC emails and released them through Wikileaks so that Trump would be elected instead of Hillary. Wikileaks denies that Russia was involved with the hack. And no one is disputing the veracity of the released emails. And there’s no evidence whatsoever that Donald Trump colluded with the Russian Government. Also, no evidence has been shown to indicate Russian involvement; just allegations from anonymous sources. And it’s hard to see what the Russians stood to gain from this given how useful the Obama-Clinton administration has been to their strategic interests. But you knew all that already, but did you...

Politics&RightsComments Off on New U.S. Transgender Survey has compelling data about being trans in America

Photo credit: NCTE It's been five years since the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) released the National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS) which, for the first time, quantified the poverty, discrimination, and violence faced by transgender people, helping to frame these issues in a way that clarified the policy changes needed to address them. The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS) is a follow up to NTDS and is the largest survey of transgender people in the United States, with almost 28,000 respondents from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. military bases overseas. Conducted in the summer of 2015 by NCTE, the anonymous online survey for transgender adults 18 and over was available in English and Spanish. When the Census Bureau says...

GLAAD GLAAD today launched the Trump Accountability Project (TAP). This resource is geared towards journalists, editors, producers, and other news makers reporting on the Trump administration which tracks the anti-LGBTQ statements and actions of Donald Trump and those in or being considered for his administration. TAP also catalogues other discriminatory and hateful statements made by Trump and his appointees. “Since Donald Trump’s rise to president-elect, we have seen an unprecedented amount of misinformation and blatant lies go unquestioned and unchallenged in national news media,” said GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “The rampant misinformation promulgated by Trump and those in his circle often contributes to a climate of hostility that puts marginalized communities in harm’s way. The Trump Accountability...

Corrupt, out-of-touch, San Francisco leftist Nancy Pelosi will continue to be the botoxed face of the Democrat Party. Which means the Democrats will continue to obsess over transgender bathrooms and appeasing the radical #BlackLivesMatter and #NotMyPresident left while dismissing the economic struggles of the middle class. This should help keep the House in Republican hands for a couple more cycles.

Politics&RightsComments Off on "San Antonio Four" today exonerated by Texas court of appeals

Photo Credit: Southwest of Salem The “San Antonio Four,” four Latina lesbians who were wrongfully convicted in 1994 of aggravated sexual assault and indecency, were today cleared on all charges by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The women’s story is documented in Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four, which premiered in theaters and on Investigation Discovery earlier this year. The documentary includes poignant scenes showing the impact of the amount of time the women have served and how that has affected them and their families. You can watch the full documentary now on Investigation Discovery's website. "Those defendants have won the right to proclaim to the citizens of Texas that theydid not commit a crime. That they are innocent. That they deserve...

Above: Mayor Ed Murray, Alex Wan, and Lisa Middleton Today Victory Fund endorsed two non-incumbent openly LGBT candidates for the 2017 election cycle: Alex Wan, who is running for President of the Atlanta City Council, and Lisa Middleton, who is running for Palm Springs City Council in California. Wan has served on the Atlanta City Council since 2010 and has a long career in community service.

Democrats, then… going nanners about the prospect of Donald Trump not accepting the election results. “When you try to sow the seeds of doubt in people’s minds about our elections, that undermines our democracy,” President Obama said. “You’re doing the work of our adversaries for them.” Democrats, now… The Democratic nominee could still snatch the US Presidency away from Donald Trump after being told to demand a recount in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania by election lawyers and computer scientists in the latest twist to the Presidential race. And At least six Democratic electors have signed an agreement to try to block Donald Trump from securing the presidency with 270 Electoral College votes. All of a sudden, contesting the results of an election doesn’t “undermine ...

Politics&RightsComments Off on GLAAD launches a bilingual report on Spanish-Language Television in the United States

GLAAD Nearly Invisible is the first GLAAD report that analyzes the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) characters in primetime Spanish-language scripted television airing in the United States between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2016. The report also analyzed the inclusion of characters of African and indigenous descent as well as characters with disabilities. GLAAD’s first report on primetime scripted programming on Spanish-language televison intends to inform regional conversations about inclusive LGBTQ representation, and also informs GLAAD’s own advocacy within the television industry. GLAAD will use this report as a baseline to measure any progress made to the stories and images being presented by Spanish-language television networks, and to encourage networks to include representation that is inclusive of complex characters that are...

Politics&RightsComments Off on LGBT elected officials inspire hope in victory speeches

Above: Carlos Guillermo Smith speaking during his victory speech. In the wake of the presidential election, many in the LGBT community are discussing what happens next. As we collect our thoughts and plot a path forward, we thought it important to hear some words from those LGBT elected officials who won on Tuesday. Openly LGBT elected officials will play an even more important role in the coming months and years -- working to prevent anti-LGBT legislation and push forward equality.

The Huffington Post has climbed in off the ledge long enough to put together a piece that says maybe … just maybe… it was the Clinton campaign’s loss was maybe less about “hate and racism” and maybe somewhat due to “neglect” of the upper midwestern states like Michigan and Wisconsin, and also Pennsylvania (which is culturally midwestern outside the suburbs of Philadelphia) and “a touch of arrogance.” In Michigan alone, a senior battleground state operative told HuffPost that the state party and local officials were running at roughly one-tenth the paid canvasser capacity that Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) had when he ran for president in 2004. Desperate for more human capital, the state party and local officials ended up raising ...

Politics&RightsComments Off on GLAAD responds to the election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States

GLAAD GLAAD today responded to the election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States: Donald Trump sits atop the most hateful Republican platform in history, one that sorely endangers the most fundamental American values of fairness and equality for all. America stands tallest when it stands firmly in its founding principle that all people are created equal. With the election behind him, President-elect Trump must now rise above divisive politics and side with the vast majority of Americans who demand equality for their LGBTQ friends, family, and neighbors. While disappointed, we are certainly not defeated; the pursuit of full acceptance will continue until everyone, no matter who they are or who they love, can simply live the life they love. November 8, 2016

The New First Family of America — I think Melania makes a much more fetching first lady than Bill would have. President-Elect Trump has already released his 100 Day Action Plan, and I don’t think I disagree with anything on that list. As his administration moves forward beyond the hundred days, it would be nice to see him focus on necessary themes and priorities throughout his first term. 1. Trump campaigned on shutting down illegal immigration, so he better follow through. Building the wall is not a total solution, but physical security barriers at our vulnerable southwestern border are a necessary element of any security plan, as are vigorous prosecutions for people engaged in human trafficking. But he also needs to crack down on people who illegally...

Politics&RightsComments Off on GLAAD’s ‘Where We Are on TV’ report finds progress in LGBTQ representation on TV, but much work still to be done

Photo Credit: GLAAD GLAAD today released its annual Where We Are on TV report; a comprehensive forecast of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) primetime characters in the 2016-17 television season. This marks the 21st year that GLAAD has tracked the presence of LGBTQ characters on television, and now the second year we have counted LGBTQ characters on original series which premiere on the streaming content providers Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix. VIEW THE FULL REPORT HERE Of the 895 series regular characters expected to appear on broadcast primetime scripted programming in the coming year, 43 (4.8%) were identified as LGBTQ. There were an additional 28 recurring LGBTQ characters. This is the highest percentage of LGBTQ regular characters GLAAD has ever counted on primetime scripted broadcast programming. The five...

In recent weeks, personal stories and profiles of Victory Fund endorsed spotlight candidates have appeared in national and mainstream media outlets. Given most of The Agenda posts have focused on issues, positions and the horse-race, here are a few of these personal stories, so you can learn more about the outstanding candidates we have this cycle… Tags: Matt Heinz Denise Juneau Leslie Herod Jane Campbell Beth Tuura Jennifer Webb Brady Walkinshaw Ken Keechl Kate Brown Daniel Hernandez Angie Craig

Politics&RightsComments Off on The Charlotte Observer endorses Jane Campbell

North Carolina’s largest newspaper has endorsed Victory Fund candidate Jane Campbell for North Carolina State House in District 98. The Charlotte Observer wrote in their endorsement: “We prefer Campbell, a Davidson graduate who is unaffiliated but backed by Democrats. She helped supervise multimillion-dollar military departments in the Navy, honing leadership and consensus-building skills. She would bring a much-needed new LGBT voice to the General Assembly.”

GLAAD Today, GLAAD launched #MyMississippi, a new campaign to amplify the voices of anyone who has ever called the Magnolia State home, to make clear the importance of, and need for, full equality and acceptance in Mississippi. The campaign is part of a larger, multi-faceted effort that will include the release of a new song, "My My Mississippi," written by DMI Music & Media Solutions' Tena Clark and performed by renowned R&B, pop, and jazz singer Patti Austin, as well as a march and rally in Jackson, MS, in December to call attention to the state's treatment of its LGBTQ citizens. Follow GLAAD for updates on how to take part in #MyMississippi online and in person. Visit the #MyMississippi Tumblr page here. ...

Politics&RightsComments Off on Florida may quintuple number of LGBT state representatives

Above: Jennifer Webb, Victory Fund candidate running in Florida House District 69 Florida is on the verge of making history with five openly LGBT legislative candidates running in this year’s general election. Currently, Florida only has one LGBT legislator – Rep. David Richardson – making the 2016 general election an unprecedented opportunity to dramatically increase LGBT representation. Tags: Florida Florida legislature David Richardson Beth Tuura Carlos Guillermo Smith Ken Keechl

Politics&RightsComments Off on Sun Sentinel endorses Ken Keechl for Florida House

The Sun Sentinel’s editorial board announced its endorsement Ken Keechl for Florida House District 93. The endorsement highlights his strong support for improving the county’s largest medical service provider, Broward Health, and his support to address climate change and rising sea levels. Tags: Ken Keechl Florida

Politics&RightsComments Off on Leading bisexual groups bring attention to bullying on #SpiritDay

GLAAD In a united stand against bullying and in support of all LGBTQ youth, leading bisexual advocacy organizations have “gone purple” for Spirit Day. An epidemic impacting many young people worldwide, bullying significantly effects bisexual+ youth, who make up more than half of all LGBTQ youth in the United States. In fact, 29% of all people age 18-29 identify as neither completely gay nor straight. According to the Movement Advancement Project’s recent “Invisible Majority” report, 40% of bi high school students seriously considered attempting suicide, and nearly 1/3 of bi students ended up attempting suicide. Bisexual youth are also more likely than their gay and straight peers to be exposed to intimate partner violence and risk behaviors. The BiCast, podcasting for the bisexual community, interviewed GLAAD’s Alexandra Bolles, Senior ...